The Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

100 ml inexplicably "deluxe" hip flask

Tasting notes: When we went to taste this Bourbon, I was expecting it to be redolent with notes of sweat-stained leather scabbards and goose-feather fletchings protruding from well-worn quivers. While there was some leather on the nose, it was more shoelaces than scabbards, and more mahogany Minwax® than hand-crafted wood arrows. But we also found notes of prunes, lunch meat, toffee, sultanas, and rye chips. In addition, there was an odd, prolonged battle between nutty creaminess and pineapple floor cleaner astringency on the nose. So this was more portly guys in armor fake dueling at a Renaissance Fayre than Aragon, Legolas, et al. fighting their way to Mordor.

On the mouth, it was thin and almost watery, but fiery, like a new form of napalm that takes up less space than the original. There were also abundant bitter notes and hints of acid reflux, but maybe that last one was just me. [I recommend a Nexium chaser.] Finally, we got flavors of burdock root so distinct that it inspired in us ideas of forming the John Burdock Society to advocate for some old school conservatism: we’d support the exclusive use of steam cars.

The finish was both rich and parsimonious. In this way, it was the Sam Walton of finishes–or plywood formed from an arrangement of scraps of different rare rain forest woods. We found it woody and resinous, but weirdly caramel-y as well. Imagine a young squire genuflecting with his newly stained yew wood practice sword toward his liege just as they serve the flan: perhaps that is the kind of blade and bow the name is meant to conjure.

Rating:

On the scale of heretofore unreferenced other kinds of “blade” and “bow”–The Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is running over a violin bow with the blade of a lawnmower–Perhaps not the most pleasant experience, but it’s certainly a unique one, and one that’s arguably worth trying if you can afford it. Would’ve gone with something like this as the rating, but it’s not that hauntingly beautiful.